Our introduction to Australia was a holiday visiting Caroline's family. It was during this holiday that we were married in March 1990, making all the wedding arrangements from England long before we came for the holiday.
After returning to the UK, one cold, wet afternoon in April,
we was discussing our options following the arrival of a letter from Caroline's relatives asking us if we had considered the possibility of emigrating. That afternoon, the thought of returning to Perth to live in the beautiful climate of the most remote capital city in Australia didn't seem such
a bad option. We decided that we would put in an
application to Australia House. By the end of the year we
had received the necessary approval, and we arrived in Perth on the 20th September 1991 to start our new life "down under".
We lived briefly with family in Wanneroo, then lived for six years in Edgewater before moving to the Carramar Golf Course Estate in 1997.
Australia has always been considered the land of opportunity, and indeed, it still is, although you have to be young enough to get the maximum benefit. Arriving at the age of 50, it still proved quite difficilt to get work. After six months, a friend suggested that I might try bus driving. I
had never held more than a car driving license, but put in
an application. After a one month course I was granted my "F" class license, and I have been driving buses ever since.
Caroline was a successful hairdresser in England with all
her qualifications and her own salon, but she still had to
go "back to school" to qualify to work in Australia. This she did, and has been working as a hairdresser ever since.
We both now only work "part time", which I prefer to call "semi retirement"!